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I can't find an acceptable one! All of the ones I like have canola oil, white-wine vinegar, or something that is an avoid! whyyyyyyyyyyy! I can't eat salad or spinach without dressing, it's awful!

Posted by: Lloyd, Sunday, May 13, 2012, 1:06pm; Reply: 1

Make your own.

Lemon and olive oil is a classic. Use some hebs to spruce it up. There are many other options, try doing a search of the site for 'salad dressing' and also check the recipe section.

Posted by: Wholefoodie, Sunday, May 13, 2012, 1:29pm; Reply: 2

Any processed food in general is not compliant. I use plain olive oil and sometimes umi plum vinegar but there are plenty of other options if you do a search, as Lloyd suggested.

Posted by: tolondontoparis, Sunday, May 13, 2012, 1:40pm; Reply: 3

I can't stomach the taste of olive oil aloneeee

Posted by: ruthiegirl, Monday, May 14, 2012, 2:19pm; Reply: 4

The basic "recipe" for salad dressing is to mix an acid with an oil. Since vinegar is out, use citrus juice. Lemon is the most commonly used in dressings, but lime and grapefruit also work well, giving subtle differences in flavors. If you don't like the taste of olive oil, try any compliant oil instead. You can also add agave to the mix if you want it a little sweeter. Agave also "tones down" the sharpness of the olive-oil taste. Whatever recipe you use, mixing it ahead of time in an empty bottle means that you get a mix of flavors when you shake it up and pour over your salad, rather than spots of olive oil and other spots of lemon juice.

Most of the time, I mix equal parts lemon or lime juice, olive oil, and agave, then add sea salt and Italian Seasoning. Occasionally I get more creative with the seasonings, but that recipe is fast and easy. I'm often making salad dressing when I'm tired so that it's ready for DD1 to pack for school lunches. I don't want to overthink the process.

If you're an O secretor, you can have canola oil and apple cider vinegar (though not wine vinegar or distilled white vinegar.) That may open up some more options for you, both in terms of available ingredients for home made dressings, and you may even find something compliant on a health food store (HFS) shelf. Just be wary of bottled dressings; many contain additives such as carrageenan and/or xanthan gum. Those ingredients are considered "all natural" and find their way into many items on HFS shelves, but are very damaging to the GI tract.

I posted the recipe for this dressing elsewhere (Hunters & Vinegar), but am posting here in case you want to try it. I think the 'anchovy' version is really good on plain spinach. If it's too thick for your taste, you can always add more lemon and/or lime juice to thin it to the consistency you like (sometimes I'll add a couple of tablespoons of grapefruit juice, as well, for an interesting flavor complement) ...

(*Wholly Avocado has aseptic retail packs of pure avocado pulp if you don't have access to fresh avocados, or don't want to be bothered peeling/seeding them. One pack substitutes for one avocado.)

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients except chia seed oil in blender. Start blending on low speed and step up to medium-high. With blender still on, slowly add the chia seed oil and blend until completely emulsified.

I posted the recipe for this dressing elsewhere (Hunters & Vinegar), but am posting here in case you want to try it. I think the 'anchovy' version is really good on plain spinach. If it's too thick for your taste, you can always add more lemon and/or lime juice to thin it to the consistency you like (sometimes I'll add a couple of tablespoons of grapefruit juice, as well, for an interesting flavor complement) ...

(*Wholly Avocado has aseptic retail packs of pure avocado pulp if you don't have access to fresh avocados, or don't want to be bothered peeling/seeding them. One pack substitutes for one avocado.)

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients except chia seed oil in blender. Start blending on low speed and step up to medium-high. With blender still on, slowly add the chia seed oil and blend until completely emulsified.

Savory Option: Add two or three anchovy filets for increased salty flavor (this works especially well in a cold salmon- or sardine-based salad).

Conor, I think this recipe looks good, and I'd call it "Guacamole Dressing". I'd suggest also, if one likes "creaminess", that instead of kefir (for those who need to stay dairy-free) an egg yolk be used. The oil can be slowly added to it and a mayonnaise whipped up. The combination of this with avocado is classic.

Thanks for sharing this!

Posted by: Goldie, Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 10:52am; Reply: 9

If avocado is an avoid,..... could one use guava or papaya? to change the flavors? and thicken?

the idea of equal agave seems interesting..

using other oils is interesting ..

adding some walnuts might make a nice change.. adding plain trehalose could also prove interesting.

could one use equal red wine instead of vinegar? I wonder.

I can use Quark, Cottage, Farmer, Manchego, Paneer, Ricotta, Romanian Urda cheeses.. I wonder how they would be with some sweet added, or a little tomato paste? or fresh tomato sliced/mixed?

or even with some broth in place of vinegar? :o

add some black beans to thicken? or a slice of well toasted manna bread? ::)

I wonder.. ??)....gosh I ought to try doing this for ME ! come and visit and I will.. ;D

Posted by: ruthiegirl, Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 2:33pm; Reply: 10

Quark can be used in place of yogurt or sour cream in any recipe.

Broth wouldn't work in place of vinegar. Vineger is an acid while broth just adds savory flavor. But you don't need another acid if you're using quark cheese, since it's acidic/tart already.

Any bean can be pureed with added liquid to make a hummus-type dressing. Make it thicker for dipping veggies into, or thinner for pouring over salads. Tahini (sesame seed paste) is also a good base for salad dressings.

I'd suggest also, if one likes "creaminess", that instead of kefir (for those who need to stay dairy-free) an egg yolk be used.

Excellent idea re: egg yolk, San J. Thanks, I've added it to my recipe and will let you know. Probably will use it on a spinach salad with some berries, hemp seed and walnuts. Not that I'm really a purposeful advocate of food combining, but I do try to keep my animal proteins separate, e.g., if I'm having sardines in a salad, I won't add any other type of animal protein to it (although I'll add one or two additional plant proteins). I do this for no other reason than I've found that I feel lighter after a meal than when I mix animal proteins (e.g., beef and fowl or beef and seafood).